Robert Pattinson has revealed that he suffers from a debilitating fear of clowns.

Pattinson plays vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight saga. But while he makes his living from scares, he has said that he himself is most scared of circus performers.

The star said that his phobia is down to the traumatic experience of seeing one burn to death as child, according to The Sun.

He explained: “The first time I went to the circus somebody died. One of the clowns died. His little car exploded. The joke car exploded on him. Seriously. Everybody ran out. It was terrifying.”

Johnny Depp and P Diddy also suffer from a fear of clowns, known as coulrophobia. But a spokesperson for campaign group Clowns International said: “Clowns are in no way sinister. It’s something we’re constantly fighting against.”

Pattinson can next be seen in Water For Elephants with Reese Witherspoon.